


purple slushies

by crayolaphan



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, M/M, unbeta-ed lol sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 14:59:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13615812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayolaphan/pseuds/crayolaphan
Summary: "Will sat, watching Nico with a soft smile, until 9:55, when Will went out to the concession lady again to buy a cherry slushie for Nico. Nico loved the cherry, and Will couldn’t believe that he was friends with a freak, but Will still bought him a red slushie after every practice."orwill plays hockey, nico figure skates, and their friends all see something that the two of them don't





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic i'm posting here pls don't bully me i just love solangelo

**_QUEENS ARENA WARM ROOM, MONDAY, DECEMBER 10th, 9:15pm, THE ONLY OTHER PEOPLE ARE THE WOMAN SELLING SLUSHIES AND A SMALL CHILD BUYING GUMBALLS AT THE CANDY MACHINES_ **

Will walks out of the dressing room, his curly blond hair plastered to his forehead and his sweatpants hanging loosely on his hips. His breath was coming out in pants as he dragged his hockey bag behind him. Will dropped his bag in the near empty foyer of the arena and quickly bought a blue raspberry slushie (a hockey practice staple. He got watermelon after games.). He shoved his fingers through his damp hair, trying to fix the unruly mess, and walked back into the ice area. 

Will was thankful for his tie-dyed Long Island hoodie when the cold air rushed at him as he pushed through the door. The time-slot after his practices always went to the figure skating team, and Will always found himself staying the extra hour to watch Nico practice. Nico di Angelo was Will’s best friend, a short, black-haired Italian figure skater, whom Will wouldn’t admit he had a crush on. Will climbed the concrete steps, coming to rest in the middle of the stands and flopping down in a chair. He caught Nico looking in his direction and raised a hand, taking a long sip of his slushie. Will thought he saw Nico’s ears tint pink under his bun, but he convinced himself Nico was just cold (besides, Will couldn’t believe figure skaters didn’t wear helmets or at least hats, their ears had to be so cold). 

Will sat, watching Nico with a soft smile, until 9:55, when Will went out to the concession lady again to buy a cherry slushie for Nico. Nico loved the cherry, and Will couldn’t believe that he was friends with a freak, but Will still bought him a red slushie after every practice. Nico was the last one to walk through the door to the foyer when Will was sitting on his bag, scrolling through Instagram on his phone.

“Hey,” Nico said, still panting a little.

“How was practice?” Will asked, standing up and handing Nico the small slushie, which he took and immediately began drinking.

Nico spoke after a long sip, “Exhausting,” he said, taking another sip of his slushie, “fucking Chiron thinks I can lead the practices just because I’m the captain. Like, he’s the coach, not me.” 

“You act like the coach,” Will teased.

“Only because Chiron doesn’t,” Nico grumbled, slinging his grey Under Armour bag over his shoulder and starting out the door. “How about you, how was practice?” Nico nudged Will’s shoulder with his own.

“Pretty normal,” Will said cheerily. He’d had time to breathe and he sounded nowhere near as breathless as Nico. “You need a ride?” he asked as they approached Will’s car on the far side of the empty parking lot. Will popped the trunk and didn’t hear Nico’s response, but Nico shoved his bag in the trunk on top of Will’s before sitting in the passenger seat. Will assumed that was a yes and closed the trunk to sit beside an antsy Nico in the driver’s seat. “What’s your deal?” Will asked, keys in hand.

“Nothing,” Nico said quickly, shaking his leg restlessly. Will stared at him pointedly. “I’m just worried about my show this week.”

“You have a show this week?” Will asked excitedly.

“Yes, now start the car.” Nico said, gesturing to Will’s keys.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I don’t know, it didn’t seem like the kind of thing I had to tell you,” 

Will stumbled over his tongue for a few seconds. “It is one hundred percent the kind of thing you have to tell me,”

“Can we talk about this at McDonald’s?” 

“We’re going to McDonald’s?” Will asked.

“I’m paying.” 

“Fine, but don’t think I’m over this,” Will said, starting the car and glaring at Nico.

 

**_McDONALDS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 10th, 10:28pm, EMPTY ASIDE FROM WILL AND NICO_ **

“So,” Will started, stirring his oreo McFlurry and looking at Nico across the table. Nico didn’t look at him. “Your show?” Will asked.

“What about it?” Nico asked around a mouthful of fries.

“You didn’t feel the need to tell me. Why?” 

“I don’t know,”

“Awesome, thanks Nico, you’re great at conversation.” Will said, and Nico threw a fry at him with a smile.

“I just didn’t tell you, but it doesn’t matter, because you know now.” 

“But there’s nothing wrong?” Will asked, taking a sip of Nico’s iced tea. Nico shook his head. “Great, so where is it and what time?” 

“Our arena, Saturday at ten,”

“In the morning?” Will asked, and Nico nodded.

“Ok.”

“You’ll come to the arena at ten on a Saturday morning?” Nico asked.

“You come to my eight o’clock games, ten isn’t that early. Besides, I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“Sleep,” Nico suggested. 

Will shrugged and said, “I can do that some other time.” He didn’t miss the small smile on Nico’s face as he took another sip of his iced tea.

 

**_WILL SOLACE’S BEDROOM, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15th, 9:30am, FAR TOO COLD FOR ANY FUNCTIONING HUMAN_ **

Will’s alarm went off at 9:30 on Saturday morning, far earlier than he would like to be awake, regardless of the fact that he would already be at school right now on a weekday, but he dragged himself out of bed nonetheless. He put on the first pair of pants he saw, a cold pair of jeans that hadn’t been washed in at least a week. His bare chest was freezing in the December morning air, so he stumbled through his room, putting on a hoodie without even looking at it. 

The coffee he made was too bitter, so he dumped yet another spoonful of sugar into the travel mug and drank half the mug in one sip. Without even putting on a coat, Will grabbed his car keys and walked outside. Will could see his breath, so he quickly dropped into the driver’s seat and started the car. He should have started the car before he made his coffee, but he didn’t, so now he had to shiver in his car until it heated up enough for him to drive. He busied himself with plugging his phone in and looking for the right song to play on his five minute drive. The clock read 9:58 when Will looked up, and he swore under his breath before pressing ‘shuffle all’ on his playlist and pulling out of the driveway.

Will pulled up to the arena a minute after the show started, and he ran inside, not even looking as he dropped two dollar bills on the counter to pay for his entry. The cool air hit his face when he opened the door and he began sprinting up the stairs through the full stands. People sat on the edge of their seats, watching the skater on the ice in awe. Will stopped in the middle of the stairs to make sure the skater wasn’t Nico, and he let out a breath when he saw Nico’s sister Hazel doing her solo routine. 

When Will reached the very top of the stands, he clambered on top of the railing between Percy and Hazel’s boyfriend Frank. 

“Annie and I were wondering where you were.” Frank said, looking at Will’s flushed cheeks and tousled hair. 

“I was not the least bit worried about you,” came Jason’s voice from the other side of Annabeth.

“Thanks Jason,” Will said. “So, Hazel’s doing really well,” Will said to Frank. 

“I know,” Frank said, not taking his eyes off of Hazel’s artistically curving body. Will’s eyes drifted to the bench where Nico sat in the middle of a group of girls glaring daggers at Hazel.

“Why do the other girls look like they want to hit Hazel?” Will asked, turning to Frank.

“They’re just pissed that the best skater on the team isn’t stick-thin,” Frank said, his smile growing wider as Hazel finished her routine. He clapped aggressively and cheered her on loudly. Hazel did a small bow towards the crowd, and her purple dress fluttered as she skated towards the bench. Nico was smiling at her and he gave her a quick high five as she shuffled past him to sit on the end of the bench. 

“The next skater is Nico di Angelo,” came the voice from the loudspeaker, and Will’s smile won over his face. Nico shuffled past the girls on the bench and stood in front of the gate for a few seconds. Will knew he was tapping each toe-pick three times on the padding of the bench, a tradition he’d picked up years ago. Nico closed his eyes, inhaled visibly, and opened the gate. Nico did a small hop to land on the ice, and immediately launched into his routine, backed by an instrumental version of “Say Something”. Will didn’t know much about figure skating, so he had no clue what any of the moves Nico was doing were called, but he could see the power and practice in them. Nico’s body moved gracefully, in the way that Will’s never could. Will was tall and bulky and strong, but Nico was small and slender and agile. Will supposed that was why Nico figure skated instead of Will. 

Nico’s routine ended with him jumping and twirling in the air, leaving Will with his mouth hanging open. He bowed quickly towards the crowd and skated back over to the bench, high-fiving Hazel as he shuffled past her.

“That was incredible!” Will exclaimed, turning to his left to look wide-eyed at Frank.

“Don’t you watch him skate like four times a week?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, but never a full routine,” Will said breathily.

“I don’t believe that for a second.” Annabeth said from the other side of Frank, but Will didn’t answer. He was watching Nico on the bench. His hair was mussed up and sticking slightly to his forehead. He had one hand wrapped around a water bottle and the other holding the back of his neck, trying to stretch his body out.

“Why does he have to stretch after just going out and throwing his limbs all over the place?” Will asked, still watching Nico. Percy looked to where Will’s gaze was pointed.

“Why are you watching him instead of Piper, who is actually skating?” he asked.

Will felt his cheeks heat up a little bit. “Shut up,” he muttered, and turned to look at Piper’s arching body and tan skin. He could hear Annabeth and Jason laughing at him, but he tuned them out and focused on Piper.

 

**_QUEENS ARENA WARM ROOM, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15th, 11:38am, LOUD AND CROWDED_ **

The other half of their group walked out of the dressing room, different coloured Adidas gym bags slung over their shoulders. “Hey guys!” Hazel said, cutting Percy off from whatever joke he was telling. 

“You did great,” Frank said, hugging Hazel. 

“You all did,” said Will.

Will thought he heard Annabeth say, “Especially Nico,” from behind him, but he ignored it.

“Wanna go to Paula’s?” Annabeth asked, referring to the local diner. There were a few noises of disagreement. “I’m paying,”. That brought out more nods, and eventually the eight of them were scattered among three cars and heading towards Paula’s.

 

**_PAULA’S DINER, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15th, 11:59am, ALSO LOUD AND CROWDED_ **

The restaurant was almost full, but Leo managed to get them seated together, a feat he always managed to pull off, and none of them knew how. The long table had a booth on one side and four seats on the other, so Nico and Will ended up squished into the corner of the booth. They got even less room when Leo pushed his way onto the end of the booth with a root beer in one hand. “Sorry I couldn’t make the show you guys, I had to work long before any of you told me about it.”

“Wait, they actually told you about it?” Will asked, looking pointedly at Nico, who rolled his eyes.

“No, Will, that’s why I said it sarcastically. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you had a show? I would have booked off work and come to watch.” Leo asked, glaring at the figure skaters around the booth. “You guys don’t have any secret games you’re not telling me about?” he asked, looking to the hockey players.

“Just the one at eight tomorrow.” Annabeth said.

“Yeah I won’t be there,” Leo said.

“Me neither.” Percy added. Hazel shook her head, and Piper shrugged.

“It’s early,” Piper said.

“Are you going, Nico?” Piper asked, a hint of teasing in her voice.

“I always do,” he said, and Will tried to hide his smile. 

“Shit,” Leo said, remembering his duties as a waiter. He stood up and left his root beer on the table beside Annabeth. “What do you guys want to drink?” he asked, putting on his waiter voice. “Wait, lemme guess. Two iced teas, a root beer, three sprites, a ginger ale, and water with lemon?” he pointed to each person as he said their drink. There were nods around the table so Leo went to the bar to fill up the orders. 

“Y’know,” Annabeth said, taking a sip of Leo’s root beer, “it’s pretty jerky that you three won’t come to our hockey games.” 

Percy shrugged, “I always go to your away games,”

“That’s just because they happen after noon.” Frank pointed out, and Percy nodded.

“Yeah we just don’t like you enough to wake up at seven on Sundays.” Piper said.

“But Nico likes you,” Hazel added.

“No, Nico likes Will.” Jason said, and Will and Nico both glared at him from the corner of the booth.

Leo came back with their drinks and handed them out before perching on the edge of the bench again. “Who drank my root beer?” he asked.

“Me,” Annabeth answered, and he punched her arm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone is a beta or is experienced with writing/editing and would be able to beta this for me i would appreciate it a lot bc i have like 20k written that i don't want to post yet
> 
> also i like the hockey player/figure skater dynamic but i know nothing about figure skating so this is more hockey-centric than anything sorry if ur here for the skating

**_NICO di ANGELO’S BEDROOM, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16th 7:30am, LATE FOR WILL’S GAME_ **

Nico hit snooze the first time his alarm went off. He hit snooze the second time his alarm went off. The third time his alarm went off, he rolled over with a groan to see that it was 7:50. He muttered a string of swear words as he put a pair of sweatpants on his bare legs and pulled a hat over his mess of hair. “Mom!” he yelled, running down the stairs and pulling his coat on over the t-shirt he slept in. “Will’s game starts in seven minutes,” he panted to his mother, the epitome of morning people.

“You should have woken up earlier, I thought the game was cancelled.” she said calmly, looking up from her laptop.

“It’s not, can you drive me?” Nico asked, taking a sip of his mother’s overly sweet coffee and scrunching his nose up a little bit in disgust.

“Alright,” she agreed, closing her laptop and taking her coffee mug with her to get her coat. Nico raced ahead of her, grabbing the keys from the table beside the door. He threw himself in the passenger seat and started the car. The clock told him he had five minutes to get to the game. Nico swore at himself under his breath, and immediately cut off when his mom opened the door. 

“C’mon!” Nico said, wide awake with excitement and worry at the thought of missing the puck drop.

“I’m coming,” she said calmly. Maria was the most relaxed mother he knew, which was great when he needed to chill, but it was impossible when he needed someone to do something quickly. “There’s no point in rushing.” she said to Nico as they pulled out of the driveway.

“No, there is a point in rushing when we’ll miss the start of the game,” Nico cried.

“We live close enough, I’ll get you there before the second period.”

“I want to see the start of the game though!” Nico pleaded.

“Breathe,” Maria said, so Nico bit the inside of his lip and turned the stereo up just a little bit. The country roads blurred into two lane highways which blurred into city streets until they were pulling into the arena parking lot. Nico practically jumped out of the still moving car, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’ before running into the arena. He dropped two dollar bills on the stand before rushing into the cold part of the arena. He sprinted up the stairs to the spot where he and his friends usually sat. Nico enjoyed the strange quietness that came with watching a hockey game alone, and he stood behind the railing at the top of the stands for the whole game.  Midget hockey was intense, and somebody (either on the ice or in the stands) was always ready for a fight. Nico liked to sit on the far left side of the arena and not pay attention to any of it, only cheering when the Sirens scored or when Will did something good. 

The whistle blew and there was a line change, causing Will to glide out into his position as the centerman. He visibly laughed at something Annabeth said to his right before he put his stick on the ice and arched his back like a cat. Nico loved watching Will play hockey, the way that he played the most aggressive sport with poise and delicacy. Will always joked that he skated like a St. Bernard while Nico skated like a Border Collie, but Nico never told him that he envied the way Will skated. 

The whistle blew and Nico tensed up, watching the big black number 7 on the back of Will’s jersey immediately take possession of the puck and skate down the ice. He was flanked by Jason and Annabeth on either side of him and he had managed to outskate everyone on the other team. 

“C’mon Will!” Nico yelled, leaning further over the railing. Will didn’t take the shot right away, which worried Nico. Breakaways can only last for so long before someone catches up. “Shoot it!” Nico screamed, but Will instead passed it gently to his left, where Jason tipped the puck into the net. “Yes!” Nico cried, hitting his bare hand against the metal railing where his ring made a loud noise that blended with the cheers of the rest of the Sirens’ fans. The score on the board went from 0-0 to 1-0, and Will was back on the bench drinking water. 

The game continued to get heated, as the play went back and forth between the Sirens’ end and the Harpies’ end. When the Harpies scored a goal with less than two minutes left, Nico sighed. The scoreboard went from 6-5 to 6-6, and Nico was scared of overtime. Will skated onto the ice for a faceoff and Nico took a deep breath. “C’mon Will, get it back!” Nico yelled, and he swore he could see Will glance quickly in his direction. The puck dropped and Nico’s heart sank when the Harpies’ centerman immediately passed it off to their right wing, who began pushing towards the defense. “No, no,” Nico muttered, but Percy, the Sirens’ right defenseman bodychecked the right wing to the ice and took possession of the puck. “Yes!” Nico cheered along with the other Sirens fans.

The defenseman passed it across the ice to Annabeth, who rushed it up to the net. “Shoot it Annie!” Nico yelled, but Annabeth held the puck for too long, and one of the Harpies was coming at her. She panicked and passed it off to who she thought was Jason, but turned out to be a Harpy. Nico groaned, but Will expertly picked the puck off of the Harpy before he could even see Will. “Yes Will!” Nico whispered to himself, and Will shot in the top left corner of the net, just slipping through the goalie’s hand. Nico cheered and slapped his ring against the railing again. With 14 seconds left in the game, Will had escaped the tie (and overtime, thankfully). 

The clock buzzed with the end of the game, and the Sirens had won by one goal. Nico cheered along with the buzzer and watched as the whole team piled onto Clarisse, their goalie. When they all eventually clambered off, Will raised his stick to Nico, and under his facemask Nico could see his smile.

Nico left his seat and walked into the foyer, getting in line so that he could buy Will a watermelon slushie before the Sirens left the dressing room. He ended up buying a medium slushie for Will (the only reason it wasn’t a small was because of the tie-breaking goal) and a bag of pretzels for himself (he’d been awake for an hour and a half and still hadn’t eaten anything). He stepped out of the way as a small child ordered a hot chocolate and payed for it all in nickels, smiling sympathetically at the concession stand’s cashier. 

Annabeth was the first one out of the dressing room (she was known for that and fought hard to keep up her reputation as first one to finish getting changed) and she beelined over to Nico. 

“That was fuckin’ awful,” she whined, taking a handful of his pretzels. 

“Didn’t you win? Or was I at a different game?” Nico joked, taking a sip from Will’s slushie and grinning at her.

“Yeah we won, but how many times did you see me on the ice? Hedge had me benched for half the game just because I broke my wrist a month ago.”

“Right, you broke your wrist a month ago, it probably isn’t even fully healed yet.”

“Yes it is, I can do almost anything with it,” she said, and bent it backwards in an attempt to demonstrate, before hissing through gritted teeth.

Nico just stared at her, but she was saved from having to speak by her boyfriend, Percy joining her from the dressing room. “Awh, thanks Neeks,” Percy said, taking a handful of pretzels from Nico.

“I didn’t buy these just for you guys,” he said, but Percy ignored him, wrapping his arm around Annabeth’s shoulders and kissing her on the forehead. 

“Great game, A,” he said into her hair, still held back into her loose ponytail from the game.

“No it wasn’t,” she grumbled, leaning into his chest nonetheless.

“I know you’re pissed about Hedge not playing you,” Percy rolled his eyes to Nico, “but you scored two goals and played really well when you were on, so don’t worry about it, and you’ll definitely do even better next game.”

“I guess,” Annabeth muttered. “Whatever, though, I’m gonna buy a coffee, you guys want anything?”

Percy shook his head but Nico said, “Some more pretzels would be nice,” and Annabeth ignored him.

Clarisse was the next one out of the dressing room, walking side-by-side with her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez. Nico and Percy smiled politely at her, waiting until she was out of earshot before Percy started complaining about how poorly she played. 

“We should have won by seven, not one,” he said, finishing his rant that Nico barely listened to. 

“Yeah, man,” Nico said, unsure of how to react until he was saved by Jason’s arrival. 

“Hey, Nico,” Jason said quietly, taking a few of Nico’s pretzels before punching Percy in the shoulder and walking out of the arena.

“Do you all have to take my fucking breakfast?” Nico whined. Percy just shrugged at him. 

“It was a hard game.”

Nico glared at Percy and opened his phone. He hadn’t had a chance to check it until now and he only had two notifications;

 

_ billiards solace _

_ 7:13 am _

_ i’m scoring 800 goals for u _

 

_ billiards solace _

_ 7:13 am _

_ and yeah, that’s a fckn promise _

 

Nico grinned and looked up from his phone just as Will joined him. “So, what happened to those 800 goals, Solace?”

“You would’ve seen them if you’d showed up before the second period,” Will said with a smirk, taking a handful of Nico’s pretzels.

“So you bully the rest of us for eating your food but not him?” Annabeth said under her breath.

“Just leave him alone,” Percy said, grabbing the handle of his hockey bag and leading Annabeth out of the arena.

“Here,” Nico said, handing Will the slushie he’d bought.

“You bought me a medium today?” Will asked.

“It was only for that final goal, don’t expect special treatment after every game.”

“From the way Annabeth was talking it sounds like I already get special treatment,” Will said, smiling broadly at Nico.

“Shut up,” Nico mumbled as his cheeks heated up. He reached to grab Will’s hockey bag for him but changed his mind at the last second, and started to walk out towards Will’s car.

“Wow, you won’t even carry my bag?” Will asked.

“I was going to until you started bullying me.”

“Okay well at least carry my stick.”

“Fine,” Nico said shortly, taking Will’s hockey stick out of his hand and pushing open the door outside.

“Shit, it’s cold,” Will exclaimed once they stepped outside.

“Don’t swear, Will,” Nico said condescendingly, earning a middle finger from Will. They quickly walked into the parking lot and Nico threw Will’s stick in the backseat of his unlocked car. He rushed into the passenger seat and blew on his hands to warm them up until Will started the car and turned on the seat warmers.

“Thank god for butt warmers,” Nico said under his breath.

Will laughed lightly. “Where are we going?” he asked, turning in his seat to face Nico.

“My mom bought that mint hot chocolate mix last night,” Nico suggested.

“Your place it is,” Will said, pulling out of his parking spot and heading towards Nico’s house.

**_NICO di ANGELO’S HOUSE, SUNDAY, DECEMBER, 16th, 10:22am, A LITTLE TOO LOUD BUT MARIA LIKES WILL SO IT’S OK_ **

Will opened the door to Nico’s house first, the old wood creaking as it swung open aggressively. 

“Hi boys!” Nico’s mom said excitedly.

“Hi Maria,” Will said, but Nico didn’t acknowledge her.

“How was the game, Will?” she asked, shutting her laptop and pulling her left leg up in her chair.

“Good, we won by one goal!”

“Which Will scored, by the way,” Nico interjected, halfway through unlacing his boots.

“Congrats, Will.”  
“Thanks!”

“So I assume you’re only here because I bought the good hot chocolate, correct?” 

“Yeah,” Nico said, having finally taken off his coat and boots and already moving towards the fridge to get the milk.

“If you’re making some, make some for your sisters,” Maria told Nico, and he heaved an exaggerated sigh.

“I’ll make sure he does it,” said Will, and Maria smiled at him, grabbing his shoulder lightly as she walked past him to go upstairs.

“If you keep being so nice to her she’s literally going to adopt you,” Nico said, pouring the entire carton of milk into a pot on the stove.

“Yeah, Nico, that’s the goal,” Will said, throwing his empty slushie cup into the recycling. He saw Nico’s eye roll and elbowed him slightly, causing Nico to splash some milk on the counter.

“Will!” Nico whined, and Will just shrugged, walking to the bottom of the staircase.

“Hazel, Bianca, I made hot chocolate!” he called, his words instantly met with the opening of two different bedroom doors. 

“Hey Will, how was the game today?” Bianca asked.

“Great, thanks!”

“Will, can you just move in?” Hazel asked him, bumping his shoulder with hers as she tumbled past.

“I’m trying, trust me.” Will said, taking the mugs that Nico was filling with hot milk and adding the hot chocolate mix. 

“So, what are we doing today?” Hazel asked, sitting at the highest barstool and taking her headscarf off of her hair.

“I have a volleyball game,” Bianca said, “and Thalia’s coming over later to work on our history project.”

“Okay fine, then what are the three of us doing today?” Hazel asked, turning to Will and Nico.

“I dunno,” Nico said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

“Thanks Nico. Will, what are we doing today?” 

“I just came here for hot chocolate, but I only wanted to watch Christmas movies all day.”

“Perfect! What movies do you want to watch?” Hazel asked excitedly.

“I feel like you already have a few in mind,” Will said jokingly. Hazel shrugged but smiled.

“Can we also make a gingerbread house?” Nico asked, and Hazel broke out into a massive smile.

“No, but only because I promised everyone that we would have a gingerbread house contest next weekend,” Will answered.

“Fine, then Christmas movies it is,” Hazel said. “I’ll go get some blankets!”

Hazel tore up the stairs, leaving the older three around the island.

“So Bianca, Thalia, huh?” Will asked teasingly.

“Nope,” Bianca said, not taking her eyes off of her phone and walking upstairs with her hot chocolate.

“Well that lasted,” Will smiled, poking Nico’s calf with his foot.

“They’ll be back,” he said, punctuated by Hazel’s quick (and  _ loud _ ) return from her bedroom.

“I found two blankets and  _ Elf  _ on DVD!” 

 

**_NICO di ANGELO’S LIVING ROOM, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16th 11:58am, THREE CUPS OF HOT CHOCOLATE DEEP_ **

Will finished his third mug of hot chocolate and wordlessly handed the empty mug to Nico.

“Really?” Nico asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, I made you the last one.”

“Fine, but I’m making it with water, not milk,” Nico huffed, throwing the blanket off of himself (uncovering some of Will’s leg in the process - rude) and stomping to the kitchen.

Will grinned and glanced to Hazel’s sleeping form on the other, smaller couch. He’d been informed that she was up until five the night before to finish an essay (that was still not finished), and so he paused the movie and followed Nico into the kitchen.

“So, di Angelo,” Will started, hopping up onto the counter in front of Nico, who glared at him and grabbed the hot chocolate from behind Will. 

“Yes?” Nico asked after a moment of silence.

“What’s new with you?” Will asked.

“Will, I haven’t gone more than twelve hours without seeing you in the past month.”

“I have to make sure that nothing important slipped your mind,” Will said, “like, oh, I don’t know, any shows?”

“Are you ever going to get over that?” 

“Are you ever going to stop being embarrassed when I watch you skate?”

“I don’t get embarrassed,” Nico said quietly.

“You always blush when I wave at you on the ice.”  
“No I don’t, Will,” Nico said, not looking Will in the eyes.

“Okay then,” Will said, noticing the sore spot and grabbing his finished mug of hot chocolate without another word. He walked back into the living room, set his drink down on the coffee table, and flopped down on the couch. 

“Scooch,” Nico ordered, sighing when Will made no effort to move on his own. Nico grabbed Will’s legs and slotted himself under them, resting his foot against the outside of Will’s thigh. “Okay you can start it,” Nico said impatiently, relaxing when Will pressed the play button and  _ Elf  _ continued on the TV.

Will’s stomach flipped every time Nico’s foot flexed against his thigh, and when Nico adjusted his body so that his legs were draped over Will’s, and his palm rested right on the exposed skin on Will’s ankle, Will turned away so that Nico wouldn’t see his blush.

  
  



End file.
